Multi-beam outphasing transmitters

ABSTRACT

An outphasing transmitter includes a combiner, a decomposition block, first and second power amplifiers, and antennas in a phased array antenna panel. The combiner combines a plurality of beamforming signals into a composite input signal. The decomposition block decomposes the composite input signal into first and second decomposed radio frequency (RF) signals coupled to the first and second power amplifiers. Non-overlapping sub-arrays of the antennas may be uniquely associated with the first and second power amplifiers. Alternatively, groups of interleaved antenna rows may be uniquely associated with the first and second power amplifiers. Alternatively, random pluralities of the antennas may be randomly hard-wired to the first and second power amplifiers. Alternatively, pluralities of the antennas may be dynamically and selectably assigned to the first and second power amplifiers. The phased array antenna panel forms a plurality of RF beams corresponding to the plurality of RF beamforming signals.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/225,071, filed on Aug. 1, 2016, and titled “Wireless Receiver withAxial Ratio and Cross-Polarization Calibration,” and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/225,523, filed on Aug. 1, 2016, and titled“Wireless Receiver with Tracking Using Location, Heading, and MotionSensors and Adaptive Power Detection,” and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/226,785, filed on Aug. 2, 2016, and titled “Large ScaleIntegration and Control of Antennas with Master Chip and Front End Chipson a Single Antenna Panel,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/255,656, filed on Sep. 2, 2016, and titled “Novel AntennaArrangements and Routing Configurations in Large Scale Integration ofAntennas with Front End Chips in a Wireless Receiver,” and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/256,038 filed on Sep. 2, 2016, and titled“Transceiver Using Novel Phased Array Antenna Panel for ConcurrentlyTransmitting and Receiving Wireless Signals,” and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/256,222 filed on Sep. 2, 2016, and titled“Wireless Transceiver Having Receive Antennas and Transmit Antennas withOrthogonal Polarizations in a Phased Array Antenna Panel,” and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/278,970 filed on Sep. 28, 2016, andtitled “Low-Cost and Low-Loss Phased Array Antenna Panel,” and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/279,171 filed on Sep. 28, 2016, andtitled “Phased Array Antenna Panel Having Cavities with RF Shields forAntenna Probes,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/279,219 filedon Sep. 28, 2016, and titled “Phased Array Antenna Panel Having QuadSplit Cavities Dedicated to Vertical-Polarization andHorizontal-Polarization Antenna Probes,” and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/335,034 filed on Oct. 26, 2016, and titled “Lens-EnhancedPhased Array Antenna Panel,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/335,179 filed on Oct. 26, 2016, and titled “Phased Array AntennaPanel with Configurable Slanted Antenna Rows,” and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/355,967 filed on Nov. 18, 2016, and titled“Phased Array Antenna Panel with Enhanced Isolation and Reduced Loss,”and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/356,172 filed on Nov. 18, 2016,and titled “Phased Array Antenna Panel Having Reduced Passive Loss ofReceived Signals,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/432,018 filedon Feb. 14, 2017, and titled “Outphasing Transmit and Receive WirelessSystems Having Dual-Polarized Antennas,” and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/432,091 filed on Feb. 14, 2017, and titled “OutphasingTransmitters with Improved Wireless Transmission Performance andManufacturability.” The disclosures of all of these related applicationsare hereby incorporated fully by reference into the present application.

BACKGROUND

Wireless transmitters utilizing phased array antenna panels employ alarge number of power amplifiers to amplify radio frequency (RF) signalsto transmit directed RF beams. Amplifying RF signals with time-varyingamplitude (also referred to as “variable envelope signals”) is not aspower efficient as amplifying RF signals with constant amplitude (alsoreferred to as “constant envelope signals”). Moreover, power amplifiersutilized to amplify and transmit constant envelope signals are lessnon-linear and introduce less distortion as compared to power amplifiersutilized to amplify and transmit variable envelope signals. On the otherhand, communicating using RF signals with time-varying amplitude is morespectral efficient than communicating using RF signals with constantamplitude.

In one solution, a variable amplitude signal is decomposed into twoconstant amplitude signals, and the two constant amplitude signals areamplified using two separate power amplifiers. The two constantamplitude signals are then transmitted over the air by respectiveantennas. One shortcoming of this solution is that path differences ofthe two constant amplitude signals will increase the error vectormagnitude (EVM). Additionally, particularly in high-frequencyapplications, phased array antenna panels may transmit RF beams inunintended directions (also referred to as “grating lobes”), interferingwith proper reception of intended RF beams. This effect is exacerbatedwhere a phased array antenna panel transmits multiple intended RF beams.

Thus, there is a need in the art to use phased array antenna panelshaving constant amplitude decomposed RF signals to achieve a transmitterand a wireless communication system that overcome the deficiencies inthe art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to multi-beam outphasingtransmitters, substantially as shown in and/or described in connectionwith at least one of the figures, and as set forth in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing receiver according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 4 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication.

FIG. 5A illustrates a perspective view of a portion of an exemplarycoordinate system in relation to one implementation of the presentapplication.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary diagram of a portion of a wirelesscommunication system according to one implementation of the presentapplication.

FIG. 6 illustrates a portion of an exemplary error vector magnitude(EVM) graph according to one implementation of the present application.

FIG. 7 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication.

FIG. 8 illustrates a portion of an exemplary error vector magnitude(EVM) graph according to one implementation of the present application.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate layout diagrams of a portion of an exemplaryphased array antenna panel according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 9C illustrates a portion of an exemplary radiation patternaccording to one implementation of the present application.

FIG. 10A illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplaryphased array antenna panel according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 10B illustrates a portion of an exemplary radiation patternaccording to one implementation of the present application.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C illustrate layout diagrams of a portion of anexemplary phased array antenna panel according to one implementation ofthe present application.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate exemplary diagrams of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C illustrate layout diagrams of a portion of anexemplary phased array antenna panel according to one implementation ofthe present application.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary lookup table according to oneimplementation of the present application.

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C illustrate layout diagrams of a portion of anexemplary phased array antenna panel according to one implementation ofthe present application.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing receiver according to one implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 19 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication.

FIG. 20 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description contains specific information pertaining toimplementations in the present disclosure. The drawings in the presentapplication and their accompanying detailed description are directed tomerely exemplary implementations. Unless noted otherwise, like orcorresponding elements among the figures may be indicated by like orcorresponding reference numerals. Moreover, the drawings andillustrations in the present application are generally not to scale, andare not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 1, outphasing transmitter100 includes combiner 160, decomposition block 120, having digitalsignal processor (DSP) 122, digital-to-analog converters (DACs) 124 and125, and mixers 126 and 127, power amplifiers 140 and 142, and antennas150 and 152.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, beamforming signals 106, 107, and 108 areprovided to combiner 160. Beamforming signals 106, 107, and 108 aregenerally amplitude and phase modulated signals. For example,beamforming signal 106 may carry amplitude and phase information for anantenna in a phased array antenna panel to contribute to formation of afirst RF beam. Similarly, beamforming signals 107 and 108 may carryamplitude and phase information for the antenna to contribute toformation of second and third RF beams respectively. Beamforming signals106, 107, and 108 may be provided by a modem or a radio frequency (RF)front end chip (not shown in FIG. 1) in a phased array antenna panelconfigured to provide amplitude and phase shifted signals in response tocontrol signals received from a master chip in the phased array antennapanel (not shown in FIG. 1). An example of such phased array antennapanel, utilizing RF front end chips and a master chip is described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/226,785 filed on Aug. 2, 2016, andtitled “Large Scale Integration and Control of Antennas with Master Chipand Front End Chips on a Single Antenna Panel.” The disclosure in thisrelated application is hereby incorporated fully by reference into thepresent application. In one implementation, an RF front end chip mayinclude components of outphasing transmitter 100, such as combiner 160,decomposition block 120, and power amplifiers 140 and 142. In oneimplementation, a single RF front end chip may be associated with twoantennas, such as antennas 150 and 152. In various implementations, asingle RF front end chip may be associated with four, six, eight,sixteen, or any number of antennas. Various examples of association ofRF front end chips with different numbers and arrangements of antennasis described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/255,656 filed onSep. 2, 2016, and titled “Novel Antenna Arrangements and RoutingConfigurations in Large Scale Integration of Antennas with Front EndChips in a Wireless Receiver.” The disclosure in this relatedapplication is hereby incorporated fully by reference into the presentapplication.

In the present implementation, beamforming signals 106, 107, and 108 arevariable envelope signals defined by B₁(t) 106, B₂(t) 107, and B₃(t) 108respectively in equations (1), (2), and (3) below:B ₁(t)=A ₁(t)e ^(jωt+jβ1(t))  Equation (1)B ₂(t)=A ₂(t)e ^(jωt+jβ2(t))  Equation (2)B ₃(t)=A ₃(t)e ^(jωt+jβ3(t))  Equation (3)where B₁(t), B₂(t), and B₃(t) represent the beamforming signals, and A₁(t), A₂(t), and A₃(t) represent the time varying envelopes.

As shown in FIG. 1, combiner 160 is configured to combine beamformingsignals 106, 107, and 108 into composite input signal 110. In thepresent implementation, composite input signal 110 is a variableenvelope signal defined by S(t) 110 in equation (4) below:S(t)e ^(jωt) =A _(comp)(t)e ^(jωt+jβcomp(t))  Equation (4)where S(t) represents the composite input signal, and A_(comp)(t)represents the time varying envelope. In various implementations,combiner 160 may combine more or fewer beamforming signals intocomposite input signal 110.

As shown in FIG. 1, decomposition block 120 is configured to decomposevariable amplitude (or variable envelope) composite input signal 110into constant amplitude (or constant envelope) decomposed RF signals 130and 132. In decomposition block 120, DSP 122 decomposes variableamplitude composite input signal 110 into constant amplitude decomposeddigital signals 112 and 113. DSP 122 may be implemented, for example,using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip. DSP 122 is coupled toDACs 124 and 125. DACs 124 and 125 convert the constant amplitudedecomposed digital signals 112 and 113 into constant amplitudedecomposed analog signals 114 and 115 respectively. DACs 124 and 125 arecoupled to mixers 126 and 127 respectively. Mixers 126 and 127 upconvertconstant amplitude decomposed analog signals 114 and 115 into constantamplitude decomposed RF signals 130 and 132. Decomposition block 120outputs constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 130 and 132.Decomposition block 120 may include additional components, such asadditional signal conditioning circuitry.

In the present implementation, decomposed RF signals 130 and 132 areconstant amplitude RF signals defined by respective constant amplitudecomponents S1(t) 130 and S2(t) 132 in equation (5) below.

$\begin{matrix}{{{S(t)}e^{j\;\omega\; t}} = {{{A_{comp}(t)}e^{{j\;\omega\; t} + {j\;{{\beta{comp}}{(t)}}}}} = {\underset{\underset{S\; 1{(t)}e^{j\;\omega\; t}}{︸}}{A_{0}e^{{j\;\omega\; t} + {j\;{{\beta{comp}}{(t)}}} + {j\;{\alpha{(t)}}}}} + \underset{\underset{S\; 2{(t)}e^{j\;\omega\; t}}{︸}}{A_{0}e^{{j\;\omega\; t} + {j\;{{\beta{comp}}{(t)}}} - {j\;{\alpha{(t)}}}}}}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu}(5)}\end{matrix}$where S1(t) and S2(t) represent the decomposed RF signals, A₀ representsthe constant amplitude (or constant envelope) of S1(t) and S2(t), andjωt+jβcomp(t)+jα(t) and jωt+jβcomp(t)+−jα(t) represent the variablephase information using the two variables β and α. Further detailsregarding decomposition of a variable amplitude signal into constantamplitude signals (also referred to as “outphasing”) can be found inU.S. Pat. No. 8,482,462 issued to Komijani et al., which is fullyincorporated herein by reference.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, decomposition block 120 is coupled to poweramplifiers 140 and 142. Power amplifiers 140 and 142 amplify constantamplitude decomposed RF signals 130 and 132 respectively. Poweramplifiers 140 and 142 can be placed sufficiently apart from each otherand provided respective RF shields so as to minimize anyinter-modulation or interference between these two power amplifiers.

In the present implementation, power amplifiers 140 and 142 are coupledto antennas 150 and 152 respectively. In an alternative implementation,power amplifiers 140 and 142 may be respectively coupled to avertically-polarized probe and a horizontally-polarized probe of adual-polarized antenna. Antennas 150 and 152 may be, for example, patchantennas, dipole antennas, or slot antennas. Antennas 150 and 152 may bepart of a phased array antenna panel (not shown in FIG. 1). In practice,for example when used in conjunction with 5G wireless communications(5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems), aphased array antenna panel may have one hundred and forty four (144)antennas. When used in conjunction with commercial geostationarycommunication satellites or low earth orbit satellites, a phased arrayantenna panel may be even larger, and have, for example, four hundred(400) antennas. In other examples, a phased array antenna panel may haveany other number of antennas. In one implementation, a single poweramplifier 140 (or 142) is coupled to a single antenna 150 (or 152). Invarious implementations, a single power amplifier 140 (or 142) may becoupled to four, six, eight, sixteen, or any number of antennas 150 (or152). For example, power amplifier 140 (or 142) may be coupled to aplurality of antennas 150 (or 152), using, for example, a splitter, aplurality of amplifier cells, or other suitable means. Thus, antennas150 (or 152) may transmit amplified constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 130 (or 132).

By decomposing variable amplitude composite input signal 110 intoconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 130 and 132 prior to theiramplification, power amplifiers 140 and 142 operate with more powerefficiency. Moreover, power amplifiers 140 and 142 exhibit lessnon-linearity and introduce less distortion than would a power amplifierutilized to amplify variable amplitude composite signal 110 withoutdecomposition. In addition, a combiner is not utilized to combine theoutputs of power amplifiers 140 and 142, thus avoiding loss orinter-modulation between power amplifiers 140 and 142. Thus, outphasingtransmitter 100 efficiently transmits constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 130 using antenna 150, and efficiently transmits constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 132 using antenna 152.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 2, outphasing transmitter200 includes combiner 260, decomposition block 220, having DAC 224,mixer 226, and RF application-specific integrated circuit (RF ASIC) 228,power amplifiers 240 and 242, and antennas 250 and 252.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, beamforming signals 206, 207, and 208 areprovided to combiner 260. Beamforming signals 206, 207, and 208 aregenerally amplitude and phase modulated signals. For example,beamforming signal 206 may carry amplitude and phase information for anantenna in a phased array antenna panel to contribute to formation of afirst RF beam. Similarly, beamforming signals 207 and 208 may carryamplitude and phase information for the antenna to contribute toformation of second and third RF beams respectively. Beamforming signals206, 207, and 208 may be provided by a modem or a radio frequency (RF)front end chip (not shown in FIG. 2) in a phased array antenna panelconfigured to provide amplitude and phase shifted signals in response tocontrol signals received from a master chip in the phased array antennapanel (not shown in FIG. 2). An example of such phased array antennapanel, utilizing RF front end chips and a master chip is described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/226,785 filed on Aug. 2, 2016, andtitled “Large Scale Integration and Control of Antennas with Master Chipand Front End Chips on a Single Antenna Panel.” The disclosure in thisrelated application is hereby incorporated fully by reference into thepresent application. In one implementation, an RF front end chip mayinclude components of outphasing transmitter 200, such as combiner 260,decomposition block 220, and power amplifiers 240 and 242. In oneimplementation, a single RF front end chip may be associated with twoantennas, such as antennas 250 and 252. In various implementations, asingle RF front end chip may be associated with four, six, eight,sixteen, or any number of antennas. Various examples of association ofRF front end chips with different numbers and arrangements of antennasis described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/255,656 filed onSep. 2, 2016, and titled “Novel Antenna Arrangements and RoutingConfigurations in Large Scale Integration of Antennas with Front EndChips in a Wireless Receiver.” The disclosure in this relatedapplication is hereby incorporated fully by reference into the presentapplication.

In the present implementation, beamforming signals 206, 207, and 208 arevariable envelope signals defined by B₁(t), B₂(t), and B₃(t)respectively in equations (1), (2), and (3) above. As shown in FIG. 2,combiner 260 is configured to combine beamforming signals 206, 207, and208 into composite input signal 210. In the present implementation,composite input signal 210 is a variable envelope signal defined by S(t)in equation (4) above. In various implementations, combiner 260 maycombine more or fewer beamforming signals into composite input signal210.

As shown in FIG. 2, decomposition block 220 is configured to decomposevariable amplitude (or variable envelope) composite input signal 210into constant amplitude (or constant envelope) decomposed RF signals 230and 232. In decomposition block 220, DAC 224 converts variable amplitudecomposite input signal 210 into variable amplitude analog signal 212.DAC 224 is coupled to mixer 226. Mixer 226 upconverts variable amplitudeanalog signal 212 into variable amplitude RF signal 214. Mixer 226 iscoupled to RF ASIC 228. RF ASIC 228 decomposes variable amplitude RFsignal 214 into constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 230 and 232.Decomposition block 220 outputs constant amplitude decomposed RF signals230 and 232. Decomposition block 220 may include additional components,such as additional signal conditioning circuitry. In the presentimplementation, decomposed RF signals 230 and 232 are constant amplitudeRF signals defined by respective constant amplitude components S1(t) andS2(t) in equation (5) above.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, decomposition block 220 is coupled to poweramplifiers 240 and 242. Power amplifiers 240 and 242 amplify constantamplitude decomposed RF signals 230 and 232 respectively. Poweramplifiers 240 and 242 can be placed sufficiently apart from each otherand provided respective RF shields so as to minimize anyinter-modulation or interference between these two power amplifiers.

In the present implementation, power amplifiers 240 and 242 are coupledto antennas 250 and 252 respectively. In an alternative implementation,power amplifiers 240 and 242 may be respectively coupled to avertically-polarized probe and a horizontally-polarized probe of adual-polarized antenna. Antennas 250 and 252 may be, for example, patchantennas, dipole antennas, or slot antennas. Antennas 250 and 252 may bepart of a phased array antenna panel (not shown in FIG. 2). In practice,for example when used in conjunction with 5G wireless communications(5th generation mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems), aphased array antenna panel may have one hundred and forty four (144)antennas. When used in conjunction with commercial geostationarycommunication satellites or low earth orbit satellites, a phased arrayantenna panel may be even larger, and have, for example, four hundred(400) antennas. In other examples, a phased array antenna panel may haveany other number of antennas. In one implementation, a single poweramplifier 240 (or 242) is coupled to a single antenna 250 (or 252). Invarious implementations, a single power amplifier 240 (or 242) may becoupled to four, six, eight, sixteen, or any number of antennas 250 (or252). For example, power amplifier 240 (or 242) may be coupled to aplurality of antennas 250 (or 252), using, for example, a splitter, aplurality of amplifier cells, or other suitable means. Thus, antennas250 (or 252) may transmit amplified constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 230 (or 232).

By decomposing variable amplitude composite input signal 210 intoconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 230 and 232 prior to theiramplification, power amplifiers 240 and 242 operate with more powerefficiency. Moreover, power amplifiers 240 and 242 exhibit lessnon-linearity and introduce less distortion than would a power amplifierutilized to amplify variable amplitude composite signal 210 withoutdecomposition. In addition, a combiner is not utilized to combine theoutputs of power amplifiers 240 and 242, thus avoiding loss orinter-modulation between power amplifiers 240 and 242. Thus, outphasingtransmitter 200 efficiently transmits constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 230 using antenna 250, and efficiently transmits constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 232 using antenna 252.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing receiver according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 3, outphasing receiver 300includes antennas 351 and 353, VGAs 372 and 374, combiner 360, mixer326, ADC 324, modem 321, output digital signal 316, and feedback line370.

Outphasing receiver 300 in FIG. 3 can be used in conjunction withoutphasing transmitter 100 of FIG. 1 or outphasing transmitter 200 ofFIG. 2. In the present implementation, constant amplitude decomposed RFsignals 130 and 132 (or 230 and 232) transmitted by respective antennas150 and 152 (or 250 and 252) of outphasing transmitter 100 (or 200)combine over the air through superposition. Antennas 351 and 353 ofoutphasing receiver 300 each receive a variable amplitude composite RFsignal that corresponds to the original variable amplitude compositeinput signal 110 (or 210). More specifically, antennas 351 and 353receive variable amplitude composite RF signals, defined byG₁*S1(t)+G₂*S2(t) 318 and G′₁*S1(t)+G′₂*S2(t) 319 respectively, where G₁and G₂ are gains at antennas 351 and 353 respectively. Antennas 351 and353 may be, for example, patch antennas, dipole antennas, or slotantennas. In one implementation, outphasing receiver 300 may includedual-polarized antennas having vertically-polarized probes andhorizontally-polarized probes.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, antennas 351 and 353 are coupled to combiner360 through VGAs 372 and 374 respectively. VGAs 372 and 374 amplifyvariable amplitude composite RF signals 318 and 319 respectively, andcombiner 360 combines variable amplitude composite RF signals 318 and319 into a scaled variable amplitude composite RF signal, defined byG*S(t) 310. Antennas 351 and 353 may be part of a phased array antennapanel (not shown in FIG. 3) that may have any other number of antennas,as stated above. In various implementations, combiner 360 may combinevariable amplitude composite RF signals from four, six, eight, sixteen,or any number of antennas.

Combiner 360 is coupled to mixer 326. Mixer 326 downconverts scaledvariable amplitude composite RF signal 310 into scaled variableamplitude composite analog signal 312. Mixer 326 is coupled to ADC 324.ADC 324 converts scaled variable amplitude composite analog signal 312into scaled variable amplitude composite digital signal 314. ADC 324 iscoupled to modem 321. Modem 321 produces an output digital signal 316based on scaled variable amplitude composite digital signal 314. In oneimplementation, an RF front end chip in a phased array antenna panel mayinclude components of outphasing receiver 300, such as VGAs 372 and 374,combiner 360, mixer 326, ADC 324, and modem 321. Components ofoutphasing receiver 300 may be coupled in an order other than the orderdescribed herein. Outphasing receiver 300 may include additionalcomponents, such as additional signal conditioning circuitry.

As further illustrated in FIG. 3, modem 321 is coupled to feedback line370. Different paths taken by constant amplitude decomposed RF signals,such as different paths taken by decomposed RF signals 130 and 132 (or230 and 232), can cause imbalance in both gain and phase, and result inan increased bit error rate (BER) for the output digital signal 316 atthe receiver. Outphasing receiver 300 can apply gain and phaseadjustment to variable amplitude composite RF signals 318 and 319 usingfeedback line 370 in order to compensate for such imbalance. Forexample, as show in FIG. 3, antennas 351 and 353 are coupled to VGAs 372and 374 respectively and variable amplitude composite RF signals 318 and319 are input to VGAs 372 and 374 respectively. Feedback line 370couples modem 321 to VGAs 372 and 374. Feedback line 370 uses the BER asfeedback to adjust the gain of VGAs 372 and 374 to compensate for gainimbalance and decrease the BER. Feedback line 370 may include additionalcomponents, such as phase adjustment circuitry.

FIG. 4 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication. As illustrated in FIG. 4, phased array antenna panel 400includes a plurality of antennas 450 (unshaded in the drawings) and aplurality of antennas 452 (shaded in the drawings). In the presentimplementation, antennas 450 and 452 have a square shape and arearranged in a grid pattern in phased array antenna panel 400. In oneimplementation, the distance between one antenna and an adjacent antennais a fixed distance, such as a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4). FIG. 4shows one hundred and forty four (144) antennas 450 and 452 arranged ina twelve (12) by twelve (12) grid pattern, which may be used inconjunction with 5G wireless communications (5th generation mobilenetworks or 5th generation wireless systems). However, only a portion ofphased array antenna panel 400 may be shown in FIG. 4. For example, whenused in conjunction with commercial geostationary communicationsatellites or low earth orbit satellites, phased array antenna panel 400may be even larger, and have, for example, four hundred (400) antennas450 and 452. In other examples, phased array antenna panel 400 may haveany other number of antennas 450 and 452. In one implementation,antennas 450 and 452 may have a shape other than a square, such as acircle. In practice, antenna probes (not shown in FIG. 4) may besituated in or over cubical or cylindrical cavities that accommodatemore efficient transmission or reception of RF signals. Thus, antennaelements 450 and 452 in FIG. 4 may represent a top view of a cubicalcavity housing antenna probes. Examples of various antennas that can beused in various implementations of the present application are shown anddescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/278,970 filed on Sep.28, 2016 and titled “Low-Cost and Low-Loss Phased Array Antenna Panel,”and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/279,171 filed on Sep. 28, 2016and titled “Phased Array Antenna Panel Having Cavities with RF Shieldsfor Antenna Probes.” The disclosures in these related applications arehereby incorporated fully by reference into the present application. Inone implementation, antennas 450 and 452 may be arranged in a patternother than a grid. In one implementation, the distance between oneantenna and an adjacent antenna may be greater than a quarter wavelength(i.e., greater than λ/4).

In the present implementation, phased array antenna panel 400 is a flatpanel array lying in the xy-plane, defined by x-axis 462 and y-axis 464,employing antennas 450 and 452 coupled to associated active circuits toform beams for transmission. In one implementation, the beams are formedfully electronically by means of phase and amplitude control circuitsassociated with antennas 450 and 452. An example of beam forming usingphase and amplitude control circuits utilizing a phased array antennapanel is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/226,785 filedon Aug. 2, 2016, and titled “Large Scale Integration and Control ofAntennas with Master Chip and Front End Chips on a Single AntennaPanel.” The disclosure in this related application is herebyincorporated fully by reference into the present application. Thus,phased array antenna panel 400 can provide fully electronic beamformingwithout the use of mechanical parts.

Phased array antenna panel 400 in FIG. 4 may be used as part of anoutphasing transmitter, such as outphasing transmitter 100 of FIG. 1 oroutphasing transmitter 200 of FIG. 2. Any of antennas 450 in FIG. 4generally corresponds to antenna 150 (or 250), and any of antennas 452in FIG. 4 generally corresponds to antenna 152 (or 252). In oneimplementation, a single power amplifier 140 (or 240) is coupled to asingle one of antennas 450. In various implementations, a single poweramplifier 140 (or 240) may be coupled to four, six, eight, sixteen, orany number of antennas 450. For example, power amplifier 140 (or 240)may be coupled to each of antennas 450, using, for example, a splitter,a plurality of amplifier cells, or other suitable means. Likewise, asingle power amplifier 142 (or 242) may be coupled to one or any numberof antennas 452. Thus, in FIG. 4, constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 130 (or 230) is provided to each of antennas 450 in phased arrayantenna panel 400, and constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 132 (or232) is provided to each of antennas 452 in phased array antenna panel400.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, phased array antenna panel 400 includesnon-overlapping sub-arrays 454 and 456. Non-overlapping sub-array 454includes antennas 450 uniquely associated with power amplifiers thattransmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 130 (or 230) (i.e.,constant amplitude component S1(t) in equation (5) above).Non-overlapping sub-array 456 includes antennas 452 uniquely associatedwith power amplifiers that transmit constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 132 (or 232) (i.e., constant amplitude component S2(t) inequation (5) above). In the present implementation, each of antennas 450in non-overlapping sub-array 454 is uniquely associated with poweramplifier 140 (or 240), and is not associated with power amplifier 142(or 242). Conversely, each of antennas 452 in non-overlapping sub-array456 is uniquely associated with power amplifier 142 (or 242), and is notassociated with power amplifier 140 (or 240). In one implementation,antennas 450 in non-overlapping sub-array 454 may be uniquely associatedwith more than one power amplifier 140 (or 240), while not beingassociated with any power amplifier 142 (or 242). In one implementation,antennas 452 in non-overlapping sub-array 456 may be uniquely associatedwith more than one power amplifier 142 (or 242), while not beingassociated with any power amplifier 140 (or 240). As used herein, theterm “non-overlapping sub-arrays”refers to the fact that phased arrayantenna panel 400 can be bisected into two sides such that no sub-arrayhas an antenna on both sides. For example, phased array antenna panel400 can be bisected into left and right sides by a line parallel tox-axis 462 located between non-overlapping sub-arrays 454 and 456 suchthat neither sub-array has an antenna on both the left and right sides;antennas 450 of non-overlapping sub-array 454 are on the left side andantennas 452 of non-overlapping sub-array 456 are on the right side.

In 5G wireless communications, and wireless communications in relationto commercial geostationary satellites, low earth orbit satellites, andother beamforming applications, a phased array antenna panel employsnumerous power amplifiers that use much of the phased array antennapanel's power. By decomposing a variable amplitude composite inputsignal into constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 130 and 132 (or 230and 232) prior to their amplification, power amplifiers in phased arrayantenna panel 400 can operate with more power efficiency and lessnon-linearity. Thus, phased array antenna panel 400 significantlyimproves power efficiency and performance in applications that employnumerous power amplifiers. As stated above, different paths taken byconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals, such as different paths takenby constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 130 and 132 (or 230 and232), can cause imbalance in both gain and phase, and increase the errorvector magnitude (EVM). By utilizing a plurality of antennas 450 and 452in non-overlapping sub-arrays 454 and 456, phased array antenna panel400 suppresses stochastic imbalance between constant amplitudedecomposed RF signals 130 and 132 (or 230 and 232). Thus, phased arrayantenna panel 400 significantly decreases EVM in applications thatemploy constant amplitude decomposed signals.

FIG. 5A illustrates a perspective view of a portion of an exemplarycoordinate system in relation to one implementation of the presentapplication. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, coordinate system 590 includesx-axis 562, y-axis 564, z-axis 566. Phased array antenna panel 400 inFIG. 4 lies in the xy-plane of FIG. 5A, defined by x-axis 562(corresponding to x-axis 462 in FIG. 4) and y-axis 564 (corresponding toy-axis 464 in FIG. 4). Phased array antenna panel 400 is configured totransmit an RF beam in direction 568, defined by (θ, φ). As used herein,θ represents the angle from z-axis 566 to a transmitted RF beam, and φrepresents the angle from x-axis 562 to the transmitted RF beam.

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary diagram of a portion of a wirelesscommunication system according to one implementation of the presentapplication. As illustrated in FIG. 5B, wireless communication system580 includes outphasing transmitter 500 and outphasing receivers 300 a,300 b, and 300 c. Outphasing transmitter 500 in FIG. 5B generallycorresponds to outphasing transmitter 100 in FIG. 1 or outphasingtransmitter 200 in FIG. 2. Outphasing receivers 300 a, 300 b, and 300 cin FIG. 5B generally correspond to outphasing receiver 300 in FIG. 3.Outphasing transmitter 500 can be used in, for example, a base stationin 5G that employs phased array antenna panels that can transmitmultiple RF beams to various end-users in different directions.

As shown in FIG. 5B, outphasing transmitter 500 forms RF beam 1, RF beam2, and RF beam 3 in directions 568 a, 568 b, and 568 c, defined by(θ_(0A), φ_(0A)), (θ_(0B), φ_(0B)), and (θ_(0C), φ_(0C)) respectively.In the present implementation, constant amplitude decomposed RF signals130 and 132 (or 230 and 232) transmitted by respective antennas 150 and152 (or 250 and 252) of outphasing transmitter 500 combine over the airthrough superposition. Thus, outphasing receivers 300 a, 300 b, and 300c receive a variable amplitude composite RF signal that corresponds tothe original variable amplitude composite input signal 110 (or 210).Because the original variable amplitude composite input signal 110 (or210) is a combination of beamforming signals 106, 107, and 108 (or 206,207, and 208), the variable amplitude composite RF signal experiencesconstructive interference in directions 568 a, 568 b, and 568 c towardreceivers 300 a, 300 b, and 300 c thereby Ruining RF beams 1, 2, and 3.Thus, RF beams 1, 2, and 3 correspond to beamforming signals 106, 107,and 108 (or 206, 207, and 208) respectively. In various implementations,outphasing transmitter 500 may form more or fewer RF beams than shown inFIG. 5B. In various implementations, the RF beams may be narrower orbroader than shown in FIG. 5B. In one implementation, the direction ofan RF beam may be optimized to balance increased power at an intendedreceiver with decreased interference at other receivers. In variousimplementations, the direction of each RF beam may have a fixedseparation or a minimum separation from the direction of an adjacent RFbeam. For example, directions 568 a, 568 b, and 568 c of RF beams 1, 2,and 3 respectively may have a fixed separation of fifteen degrees (15°),or a minimum separation of at least fifteen degrees (≥15°).

FIG. 6 illustrates a portion of an exemplary error vector magnitude(EVM) graph according to one implementation of the present application.As illustrated in FIG. 6, EVM graph 692 includes trace 676. Trace 676represents the EVM for a phased array antenna panel, such as phasedarray antenna panel 400 in FIG. 4, versus RF beam angle θ. Relativedimensions of the EVM and RF beam angle θ shown in FIG. 6 may beexaggerated for the purposes of illustration. Accordingly, units andscales are omitted in FIG. 6.

As shown by trace 676 in FIG. 6, the EVM decreases to minima aroundθ_(0A), θ_(0B), and θ_(0C), where θ_(0A), θ_(0B), and θ_(0C) representthe intended transmitted RF beam angles. In one implementation, the EVMmay decrease to more or fewer minima than shown in FIG. 6 and thetransmitter may have more or fewer intended RF beam angles. An EVM belowa certain threshold may be desirable for the transmitter design.Bandwidths 678 a, 678 b, and 678 c represent ranges of RF beam angle θfor which the EVM is below a design threshold. However, narrowbandwidths 678 a, 678 b, and 678 c limit the scan range of atransmitter.

FIG. 7 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication. As illustrated in FIG. 7, phased array antenna panel 700includes a plurality of antennas 750 (unshaded in the drawings) and aplurality of antennas 752 (shaded in the drawings). In the presentimplementation, antennas 750 and 752 have a square shape and arearranged in a grid pattern in phased array antenna panel 700. In oneimplementation, the distance between one antenna and an adjacent antennais a fixed distance, such as a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4). FIG. 7shows one hundred and forty four (144) antennas 750 and 752 arranged ina twelve (12) by twelve (12) grid pattern, which may be used inconjunction with 5G wireless communications. However, only a portion ofphased array antenna panel 700 may be shown in FIG. 7. For example, whenused in conjunction with commercial geostationary communicationsatellites or low earth orbit satellites, phased array antenna panel 700may be even larger, and have, for example, four hundred (400) antennas750 and 752. In other examples, phased array antenna panel 700 may haveany other number of antennas 750 and 752. In one implementation,antennas 750 and 752 may have a shape other than a square, such as acircle. In practice, antenna probes (not shown in FIG. 7) may besituated in or over cubical or cylindrical cavities that accommodatemore efficient transmission or reception of RF signals. Thus, antennaelements 750 and 752 in FIG. 7 may represent a top view of a cubicalcavity housing antenna probes. Examples of various antennas that can beused in various implementations of the present application are shown anddescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/278,970 filed on Sep.28, 2016 and titled “Low-Cost and Low-Loss Phased Array Antenna Panel,”and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/279,171 filed on Sep. 28, 2016and titled “Phased Array Antenna Panel Having Cavities with RF Shieldsfor Antenna Probes.” The disclosures in these related applications arehereby incorporated fully by reference into the present application. Inone implementation, antennas 750 and 752 may be arranged in a patternother than a grid. In one implementation, the distance between oneantenna and an adjacent antenna may be greater than a quarter wavelength(i.e., greater than λ/4).

In the present implementation, phased array antenna panel 700 is a flatpanel array lying in the xy-plane, defined by x-axis 762 and y-axis 764,employing antennas 750 and 752 coupled to associated active circuits toform beams for transmission. In one implementation, the beams are formedfully electronically by means of phase and amplitude control circuitsassociated with antennas 750 and 752. An example of beam forming usingphase and amplitude control circuits utilizing dual-polarized antennasis described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/226,785 filed onAug. 2, 2016, and titled “Large Scale Integration and Control ofAntennas with Master Chip and Front End Chips on a Single AntennaPanel.” The disclosure in this related application is herebyincorporated fully by reference into the present application. Thus,phased array antenna panel 700 can provide fully electronic beamformingwithout the use of mechanical parts.

Phased array antenna panel 700 in FIG. 7 may be used as part of anoutphasing transmitter, such as outphasing transmitter 100 of FIG. 1 oroutphasing transmitter 200 of FIG. 2. Any of antennas 750 in FIG. 7generally corresponds to antenna 150 (or 250), and any of antennas 752in FIG. 7 generally corresponds to antenna 152 (or 252). In oneimplementation, a single power amplifier 140 (or 240) is coupled to asingle one of antennas 750. In various implementations, a single poweramplifier 140 (or 240) may be coupled to four, six, eight, sixteen, orany number of antennas 750. For example, power amplifier 140 (or 240)may be coupled to each of antennas 750, using, for example, a splitter,a plurality of amplifier cells, or other suitable means. Likewise, asingle power amplifier 142 (or 242) may be coupled to one or any numberof antennas 752. Thus, in FIG. 7, constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 130 (or 230) is provided to each of antennas 750 in phased arrayantenna panel 700, and constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 132 (or232) is provided to each of antennas 752 in phased array antenna panel700.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, phased array antenna panel 700 includesinterleaved antenna rows 758 a, 758 b, 758 c, 758 d, 758 e, 758 f, 758g, 758 h, 758 i, 758 j, 758 k, and 758 l, collectively referred to asinterleaved antenna rows 758. Interleaved antenna rows 758 a, 758 c, 758e, 758 g, 758 i, and 758 k include antennas 750 uniquely associated withpower amplifiers that transmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal130 (or 230) (i.e., constant amplitude component S1(t) in equation (5)above). Interleaved antenna rows 758 b, 758 d, 758 f, 758 h, 758 j, and758 l include antennas 752 uniquely associated with power amplifiersthat transmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 132 (or 232)(i.e., constant amplitude component S2(t) in equation (5) above).

In the present implementation, each of antennas 750 in interleavedantenna rows 758 a, 758 c, 758 e, 758 g, 758 i, and 758 k is uniquelyassociated with power amplifier 140 (or 240), and is not associated withpower amplifier 142 (or 242). Conversely, each of antennas 752 ininterleaved antenna rows 758 b, 758 d, 758 f, 758 h, 758 j, and 758 l isuniquely associated with power amplifier 142 (or 242), and is notassociated with power amplifier 140 (or 240). In one implementation,antennas 750 in interleaved antenna rows 758 a, 758 c, 758 e, 758 g, 758i, and 758 k may be uniquely associated with more than one poweramplifier 140 (or 240), while not being associated with any poweramplifier 142 (or 242). In one implementation, antennas 752 ininterleaved antenna rows 758 b, 758 d, 758 f, 758 h, 758 j, and 758 lmay be uniquely associated with more than one power amplifier 142 (or242), while not being associated with any power amplifier 140 (or 240).As used herein, the term “interleaved antenna rows” refers to the factthat an antenna row and its adjacent antenna row are uniquely associatedwith power amplifiers that transmit different constant amplitudedecomposed RF signals that correspond to constant amplitude componentS1(t) or constant amplitude component S2(t) in equation (5) above,respectively. For example, antenna row 758 a is uniquely associated withpower amplifiers that transmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal130 (or 230) (i.e., constant amplitude component S1(t) in equation (5)above), while adjacent antenna row 758 b is uniquely associated withpower amplifiers that transmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal132 (or 232) (i.e., constant amplitude component S2(t) in equation (5)above). In the present implementation, interleaved antenna rows 758 areinterleaved along the direction of y-axis 764. In variousimplementations, interleaved antenna rows 758 may be interleaved alongthe direction of x-axis 762, or any other direction.

By utilizing a plurality of interleaved antenna rows 758 to alternateassignment of constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 130 and 132 (or230 and 232), phased array antenna panel 700 significantly decreases EVMover a wide range of RF beam angles. The various implementations andadvantages of power efficiency, improvement in non-linearity andperformance, and decreased EVM discussed in relation to phased arrayantenna panel 400 in FIG. 4 may also apply to phased array antenna panel700 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 illustrates a portion of an exemplary error vector magnitude(EVM) graph according to one implementation of the present application.As illustrated in FIG. 8, EVM graph 892 includes trace 876. Trace 876represents the EVM for a phased array antenna panel, such as phasedarray antenna panel 700 in FIG. 7, versus RF beam angle θ. Relativedimensions of the EVM and RF beam angle θ shown in FIG. 8 may beexaggerated for the purposes of illustration. Accordingly, units andscales are omitted in FIG. 8.

As shown by trace 876 in FIG. 8, the EVM decreases to minima aroundθ_(0A), θ_(0B), and θ_(0C). A decreased EVM generally correlates to ahigher quality transmitter. Thus, θ_(0A), θ_(0B), and θ_(0C) mayrepresent intended RF beam angles. In one implementation, the EVM maydecrease to more or fewer minima than shown in FIG. 8 and thetransmitter may have more or fewer intended RF beam angles. An EVM belowa certain threshold may be desirable for the transmitter design.Bandwidth 878 represents a range of RF beam angle θ for which the EVM isbelow a design threshold. As illustrated in FIG. 8, bandwidth 878,corresponding to the interleaved antenna rows configuration of phasedarray antenna panel 700 in FIG. 7, is significantly wider thanbandwidths 678 a, 678 b, and 678 c, corresponding to the non-overlappingsub-arrays configuration of phased array antenna panel 400 in FIG. 4. Inpractice, a wider bandwidth, such as bandwidth 878, extends the scanrange of a transmitter.

FIG. 9A illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication. Phased array antenna panel 900 in FIG. 9A may generallycorrespond to a portion of phased array antenna panel 400 in FIG. 4. Asillustrated in FIG. 9A, phased array antenna panel 900 includes aplurality of antennas 950. Each antenna 950 is uniquely associated withpower amplifiers that transmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal130 (or 230) (i.e., constant amplitude component S1(t) in equation (5)above). In one implementation, for a wireless transmitter transmittingsignals at 10 GHz (i.e., λ=30 mm), each antenna 950 may need an area ofat least a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4=7.5 mm) by a quarter wavelength(i.e., λ/4=7.5 mm). Antennas 950 may each have a square shape havingdimensions of 7.5 mm by 7.5 mm, for example. Antennas 950 may be, forexample, cavity antennas or patch antennas or other types of antennas.The shape of antennas 950 may correspond to, for example, the shape ofan opening in a cavity antenna or the shape of an antenna plate in apatch antenna. In other implementations, antennas 950 may havesubstantially circular shapes, or may have any other shapes.

As illustrated in FIG. 9A, each antenna element is uniformly spaced fromeach adjacent antenna element. In the present implementation, distanceD1 uniformly separates various adjacent antennas elements. Notably,distance D1 in FIG. 9A also represents the distance between each antenna950 that transmits constant amplitude component S1(t). In oneimplementation, distance D1 may be a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4). Invarious implementations, distance D1 may be less than or greater than aquarter wavelength (i.e., less than or greater than λ/4).

FIG. 9B illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication. Phased array antenna panel 902 in FIG. 9B may generallycorrespond to a portion of phased array antenna panel 700 in FIG. 7. Asillustrated in FIG. 9B, phased array antenna panel 902 includes aplurality of antennas 950 interleaved with a plurality of antennas 952.Each antenna 950 is uniquely associated with power amplifiers thattransmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 130 (or 230) (i.e.,constant amplitude component S1(t) in equation (5) above). Each antenna952 is uniquely associated with power amplifiers that transmit constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 132 (or 232) (i.e., constant amplitudecomponent S2(t) in equation (5) above). In one implementation, for awireless transmitter transmitting signals at 10 GHz (i.e., λ=30 mm),each antenna 950 and 952 may need an area of at least a quarterwavelength (i.e., λ/4=7.5 mm) by a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4=7.5mm). Antennas 950 and 952 may each have a square shape having dimensionsof 7.5 mm by 7.5 mm, for example. Antennas 950 and 952 may be, forexample, cavity antennas or patch antennas or other types of antennas.The shape of antennas 950 and 952 may correspond to, for example, theshape of an opening in a cavity antenna or the shape of an antenna platein a patch antenna. In other implementations, antennas 950 and 952 mayhave substantially circular shapes, or may have any other shapes.

As illustrated in FIG. 9B, each antenna element is uniformly spaced fromeach adjacent antenna element. In the present implementation, distanceD1 uniformly separates various adjacent antennas elements. Notably, incontrast to FIG. 9A, distance D1 in FIG. 9B does not represent thedistance between each antenna 950 that transmits constant amplitudecomponent S1(t). Rather, distance D2 uniformly separates each antenna950. In the present implementation, distance D2 is defined by equation(6) below:D2=2*D1+W  Equation (6)where W represents the width of each antenna 952. In one implementation,distance D1 may be a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4). In variousimplementations, distance D1 may be less than or greater than a quarterwavelength (i.e., less than or greater than λ/4). In one implementation,width W may be a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4). In variousimplementations, width W may be less than or greater than a quarterwavelength (i.e., less than or greater than λ/4). In one implementation,distance D2 may be three quarter wavelengths (i.e., 3λ/4). In variousimplementations, distance D2 may be less than or greater than threequarter wavelengths (i.e., less than or greater than 3λ/4).

As illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, when antennas 950 are interleavedwith antennas 952, as in the interleaved antenna rows configuration ofphased array antenna panel 700 in FIG. 7, if each antenna element isuniformly spaced from its adjacent antenna element by distance D1, thedistance between each antenna 950 increases as compared to when antennas950 are not interleaved with antennas 952, as in the non-overlappingsub-arrays configuration of phased array antenna panel 400 in FIG. 4. Inpractice, a relatively large distance between antennas 950 uniquelyassociated with power amplifiers that transmit constant amplitudecomponent S1(t), such as distance D2, can cause a phased array antennapanel to transmit RF beams in unintended directions, also referred to as“grating lobes.” For example, phased array antenna panel 902 may exhibitgrating lobes when distance D2 is greater than a half wavelength (i.e.,greater than λ/2). In high frequency applications having shortwavelengths, it can be complex and costly to manufacture phased arrayantenna panel 902 such that distance D2 is less than or equal to a halfwavelength (i.e., less than or equal to λ/2).

FIG. 9C illustrates a portion of an exemplary radiation patternaccording to one implementation of the present application. Asillustrated in FIG. 9C, radiation pattern 994 represents the amplitudeversus angle θ of signals transmitted from a phased array antenna panel,such as phased array antenna panel 902 in FIG. 9B. Relative dimensionsof the amplitude and angle θ shown in FIG. 9C may be exaggerated for thepurposes of illustration. Accordingly, units and scales are omitted inFIG. 9C.

As shown in FIG. 9C, radiation pattern 994 includes intended RF beams968 a, 968 b, and 968 c, as indicated by the amplitude increasing tomaxima around intended RF beam angles θ_(0A), θ_(0B), and θ_(0C). Asfurther shown in FIG. 9C, radiation pattern 994 includes grating lobes969 a, 969 b, and 969 c, as indicated by the amplitude increasing toother maxima around grating lobe angles θ_(1A), θ_(1B), and θ_(1C). Asstated above, a relatively large uniform spacing between antennasuniquely associated with power amplifiers that transmit a constantamplitude component, such as distance D2 in FIG. 9B, can causeundesirable grating lobes 969 a, 969 b, and 969 c. In someimplementations, the radiation pattern of the transmitter may have moreor fewer intended RF beams and/or more or fewer undesirable gratinglobes than shown in FIG. 9C. In practice, grating lobes interfere withproper reception of intended RF beams.

FIG. 10A illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplaryphased array antenna panel according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 10A, phased array antennapanel 1000 includes a plurality of non-uniformly spaced antennas 1050.In the present implementation, each antenna 1050 is spaced from itsadjacent antennas by a different distance. As stated above,manufacturing constraints make it difficult to manufacture a phasedarray antenna panel with small antenna spacing, and large uniformantenna spacing can produce grating lobes. One solution is to usenon-uniform antenna spacing, such as in phased array antenna panel 1000.Non-uniform antenna spacings 1082 reduce grating lobes, as discussedfurther below. The dimensions of each antenna 1050 compared to thedimensions of non-uniform antenna spacings 1082 may be exaggerated forthe purposes of illustration. The various implementations and examplesof transmission frequencies, antenna sizes, antenna shapes, antennatypes, and uniquely associated power amplifiers discussed in relation toantennas 950 in FIG. 9A may also apply to non-uniformly spaced antennas1050 shown in FIG. 10A.

FIG. 10B illustrates a portion of an exemplary radiation patternaccording to one implementation of the present application. Asillustrated in FIG. 10B, radiation pattern 1094 represents the amplitudeversus angle θ of signals transmitted from a phased array antenna panel,such as phased array antenna panel 1000 in FIG. 10A. Relative dimensionsof the amplitude and angle θ shown in FIG. 10B may be exaggerated forthe purposes of illustration. Accordingly, units and scales are omittedin FIG. 10B.

As shown in FIG. 10B, radiation pattern 1094 includes intended RF beams1068 a, 1068 b, and 1068 c, as indicated by the amplitude increasing tomaxima around intended RF beam angles θ_(0A), θ_(0B), and θ_(0C). Asfurther shown in FIG. 10B, radiation pattern 1094 includes grating lobes1069 a, 1069 b, and 1069 c, as indicated by the amplitude increasing toother maxima around grating lobe angles θ_(1A), θ_(1B), and θ_(1C). Asstated above, non-uniformly spaced antennas can reduce undesirablegrating lobes 1069 a, 1069 b, and 1069 c. As illustrated in FIG. 10B,grating lobes 1069 a, 1069 b, and 1069 c, corresponding to thenon-uniformly spaced antennas configuration of phased array antennapanel 1000 in FIG. 10A, are significantly reduced by Δ_(A), Δ_(B), andΔ_(c) respectively as compared to grating lobes 969 a, 969 b, and 969 cin FIG. 9C, corresponding to the uniformly spaced antennas configurationof phased array antenna panel 902 in FIG. 9B. In practice, reducinggrating lobes reduces interference with proper reception of intended RFbeams. However, it can be complex and costly to manufacture phased arrayantenna panel 1000 due to the unique dimensions of non-uniform antennaspacings 1082 in non-uniformly spaced antennas 1050. Additionally,non-uniformly spaced antennas 1050 do not readily accommodate aninterleaving antenna configuration, such as the interleavingconfiguration of antennas 750 and antennas 752 in FIG. 7, since suchinterleaving configuration requires a relatively uniform spacing ofantennas 750 and antennas 752.

FIG. 11A illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplaryphased array antenna panel according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 11A, phased array antennapanel 1100 shows random assignment 1180 of antennas 1150 (unshaded inthe drawings) and antennas 1152 (shaded in the drawings). In the presentimplementation, antennas 1150 may be hard-wired to power amplifiers thattransmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 130 (or 230) (i.e.,constant amplitude component S1(t) in equation (5) above). Antennas 1152may be hard-wired to power amplifiers that transmit constant amplitudedecomposed RF signal 132 (or 232) (i.e., constant amplitude componentS2(t) in equation (5) above). The hard-wired random assignment ofantennas in phased array antenna panel 1100 results in a randomconfiguration of antennas that are hard-wired to transmit constantamplitude component S1(t) and another random configuration of antennasthat are hard-wired to transmit constant amplitude component S2(t). Suchrandom assignment is predetermined, prior to manufacturing phased arrayantenna panel 1100, by any method known in the art, such as usingvarious random number generation algorithms.

In the implementation shown in FIG. 11A, each antenna element isuniformly spaced from each adjacent antenna element, and each antennaelement has a uniform width. In the present implementation, distance D1uniformly separates various adjacent antennas elements having uniformwidth W. The various implementations and examples of antenna shapes,sizes, numbers, types, and beamforming, and power amplifier couplingsdiscussed in relation to phased array antenna panel 400 in FIG. 4 mayalso apply to phased array antenna panel 1100 shown in FIG. 11A.

FIG. 11B illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplaryphased array antenna panel according to one implementation of thepresent application. Phased array antenna panel 1102 in FIG. 11Bcorresponds to phased array antenna panel 1100 in FIG. 11A. Asillustrated in FIG. 11B, phased array antenna panel 1102 shows randomassignment 1182 of antennas 1150. Phased array antenna panel 1102 inFIG. 11B shows the portion of phased array antenna panel 1100 in FIG.11A that is hard-wired to transmit constant amplitude component S1 (t).As illustrated in FIG. 11B, antennas 1150 in random assignment 1182 arenon-uniformly spaced relative to each other.

FIG. 11C illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplaryphased array antenna panel according to one implementation of thepresent application. Phased array antenna panel 1104 in FIG. 11Ccorresponds to phased array antenna panel 1100 in FIG. 11A. Asillustrated in FIG. 11C, phased array antenna panel 1104 shows randomassignment 1184 of antennas 1152. Thus, phased array antenna panel 1104in FIG. 11C shows the portion of phased array antenna panel 1100 in FIG.11A that is hard-wired to transmit constant amplitude component S2(t).As illustrated in FIG. 11C, antennas 1152 in random assignment 1184 arenon-uniformly spaced relative to each other.

By utilizing random assignment 1180, phased array antenna panel 1100exhibits non-uniform antenna spacing for antennas 1150 that transmitconstant amplitude decomposed RF signal 130 (or 230) and for antennas1152 that transmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 132 (or 232).Thus, phased array antenna panel 1100 effectively reduces grating lobesin applications that employ constant amplitude decomposed signals. Inaddition, by using the same distance D1 that uniformly separates variousadjacent antennas elements having uniform width W, phased array antennapanel 1100 can be more easily manufactured.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate exemplary diagrams of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, outphasingtransmitter 1200 includes power amplifiers 1240 and 1242, switch 1296,and antenna 1255. Antenna 1255 is configured to be dynamically andselectably assigned to power amplifier 1240 or 1242. In oneimplementation, antenna 1255 may be dynamically and selectably assignedbased on control signals received from a master chip (not shown in FIGS.12A and 12B). As shown in FIG. 12A, switch 1296 can assign poweramplifier 1240 to antenna 1255. As shown in FIG. 12B, switch 1296 canalso assign power amplifier 1242 to antenna 1255. Thus, antenna 1255 inoutphasing transmitter 1200 can transmit either constant amplitudedecomposed RF signal 1230 or 1232 (i.e., either constant amplitudecomponent S1(t) or constant amplitude component S2(t)).

In the present implementation, switch 1296 is coupled between poweramplifiers 1240 and 1242 and antenna 1255. In one implementation, switch1296 may be coupled between a decomposition block (not shown in FIGS.12A and 12B) and a power amplifier. Switch 1296 may be, for example, anRF switch or an RF multiplexer. Antenna 1255 may be part of a phasedarray antenna panel. In one implementation, a single switch 1296 assignsa single antenna 1255 in a phased array antenna panel. In variousimplementations, a single switch 1296 may assign four, six, eight,sixteen, or any number of antennas 1255 in a phased array antenna panel.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C illustrate layout diagrams of a portion of anexemplary phased array antenna panel according to one implementation ofthe present application. As illustrated in FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C,phased array antenna panel 1300 includes antennas 1350 (unshaded in thedrawings) and antennas 1352 (shaded in the drawings). Each of antennas1350 in FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C may generally correspond to antenna 1255in FIG. 12A dynamically and selectably assigned to power amplifiers thattransmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1230 (i.e., constantamplitude component S1(t)). Each of antennas 1352 in FIGS. 13A, 13B, and13C may generally correspond to antenna 1255 in FIG. 12B dynamically andselectably assigned to power amplifiers that transmit constant amplitudedecomposed RF signal 1232 (i.e., constant amplitude component S2(t)).The various implementations and examples of antenna shapes, sizes,distances, numbers, types, and beamforming, and power amplifiercouplings discussed in relation to phased array antenna panel 400 inFIG. 4 may also apply to phased array antenna panel 1300 shown in FIGS.13A, 13B, and 13C.

In the implementation shown in FIGS. 13A, 13B, and 13C, phased arrayantenna panel 1300 can form RF beams and change the directions of the RFbeams. Phased array antenna panel 1300 can dynamically and selectablyassign antennas 1350 and 1352 based on the desired direction of the RFbeams to be formed. As illustrated in FIG. 13A, when transmitting an RFbeam having angle φ=0°, the outphasing transmitter, such as outphasingtransmitter 1200, dynamically and selectably assigns antennas 1350 and1352 in horizontal rows. As illustrated in FIG. 13B, when transmittingan RF beam having angle φ=90°, the outphasing transmitter, such asoutphasing transmitter 1200, dynamically and selectably assigns antennas1350 and 1352 in vertical rows. As illustrated in FIG. 13C, whentransmitting an RF beam having angle φ=45°, the outphasing transmitter,such as outphasing transmitter 1200, dynamically and selectably assignsantennas 1350 and 1352 in diagonal rows. By dynamically assigningantennas 1350 and 1352 based on RF beam angle φ as shown in FIGS. 13A,13B, and 13C, phased array antenna panel 1300 can decrease EVM whilealso minimizing grating lobes. In various implementations, theoutphasing transmitter may dynamically assign antennas 1350 and 1352differently for φ=0°, φ=90°, and φ=45°, in patterns other than rows,and/or based on factors other than or in addition to RF beam angle φ.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary lookup table according to oneimplementation of the present application. Lookup table 1400 showsexemplary antenna assignments for a phased array antenna panel. Anoutphasing transmitter, such as outphasing transmitter 1200, referenceslookup table 1400 to dynamically and selectably assign antennas in thephased array antenna panel to either the constant amplitude componentS1(t) (represented simply by S1 in lookup table 1400) or the constantamplitude component S2(t) (represented simply by S2 in lookup table1400). In the present implementation, antenna assignments in lookuptable 1400 are referenced based on the desired direction of an RF beamto be formed. For example, when transmitting an RF beam in direction of(θ_(i), φ₁), the outphasing transmitter references θ_(i) in the θ indexof lookup table 1400, references φ₁ in the φ index, and retrieves theantenna assignment values corresponding to (θ_(i), φ₁) in lookup table1400. For the purpose of an example only, antenna assignment valuescorresponding to an RF beam formed in the direction of (θ_(i), φ₁) areshown by the corresponding row in lookup table 1400 by table entries S1,S1, S2, S2, S2, . . . S1. As another example, antenna assignment valuescorresponding to an RF beam formed in the direction of (θ_(i), φ_(m))are shown by the corresponding row in lookup table 1400 by table entriesS1, S1, S1, S2, S2, . . . S2. As yet another example, antenna assignmentvalues corresponding to an RF beam formed in the direction of (θ_(k),φ_(n)) are shown by the corresponding row in lookup table 1400 by tableentries S2, S2, S1, S1, S1, . . . S2.

The outphasing transmitter uses the antenna assignment values todynamically assign antennas to S1(t) or S2(t). For example, theoutphasing transmitter can use the antenna assignment values to generatecontrol signals for switches, such as switches 1296, to dynamicallyassign antennas to S1(t) or S2(t). In the present implementation, eachantenna assignment in lookup table lookup table 1400 represents theantenna assignment that yields the minimum grating lobe for thecorresponding RF beam direction. Such assignments are predeterminedbased on simulations, or tests and measurements performed prior to massmanufacturing of the outphasing transmitter by various methods known inthe art, such as simulation using high frequency structure simulator(HFSS) software, or laboratory testing of sample prototypes of thephased array antenna panels.

In one implementation, lookup table 1400 may be stored in a master chip(not shown in FIG. 14), in its processor or in its memory, such asread-only memory (ROM) or random-access memory (RAM). When stored in amaster chip, lookup table 1400 may contain assignments for all antennasin the phased array antenna panel. In one implementation, lookup table1400 may be stored in an RF front end chip (not shown in FIG. 14), inits processor or in its memory, such as ROM or RAM. In oneimplementation, the RF front end chip may be the same RF front end chipthat includes decomposition block 120 (or 220), power amplifiers 140 and142 (or 240 and 242), and other components of outphasing transmitter 100(or 200) in FIG. 1 (or FIG. 2). When stored in an RF front end chip,lookup table 1400 may contain assignments for antennas associated withthe RF front end chip. In one implementation, each antenna assignment inlookup table 1400 may represent an antenna assignment that optimizesfactors other than or in addition to grating lobe. In oneimplementation, the outphasing transmitter may reference antennaassignments in lookup table 1400 based on the desired directions ofmultiple RF beams to be formed. In one implementation, the outphasingtransmitter may reference antenna assignments in lookup table 1400 basedon factors other than or in addition to the desired RF beam direction.By referencing lookup table 1400, outphasing transmitter 1200 greatlysimplifies dynamically and selectably assigning antennas in a phasedarray antenna panel.

FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C illustrate layout diagrams of a portion of anexemplary phased array antenna panel according to one implementation ofthe present application. As illustrated in FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C,phased array antenna panel 1500 shows random assignments 1580, 1586, and1588 of antennas. Each antenna 1550 (unshaded in the drawings) maygenerally correspond to antenna 1255 in FIG. 12A dynamically andselectably assigned to power amplifiers that transmit constant amplitudedecomposed RF signal 1230 (i.e., constant amplitude component S1 (t)).Each antenna 1552 (shaded in the drawings) may generally correspond toantenna 1255 in FIG. 12B dynamically and selectably assigned to poweramplifiers that transmit constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1232(i.e., constant amplitude component S2(t)). In the implementation shownin FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C, each antenna element is uniformly spacedfrom each adjacent antenna element, and each antenna element has auniform width. In the present implementation, distance D1 uniformlyseparates various adjacent antennas elements having uniform width W. Thevarious implementations and examples of antenna shapes, sizes,distances, numbers, types, and beamforming, and power amplifiercouplings discussed in relation to phased array antenna panel 400 inFIG. 4 may also apply to phased array antenna panel 1500 shown in FIGS.15A, 15B, and 15C.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C, the outphasing transmitter,such as outphasing transmitter 1200, dynamically and selectably assignsantennas in random assignment 1580 (FIG. 15A), random assignment 1586(FIG. 15B), and random assignment 1588 (FIG. 15C). The outphasingtransmitter can dynamically and selectably assign antennas in numerousother random assignments, only examples of which are shown in FIGS. 15A,15B, and 15C. In one implementation, such random assignments may be madeby a processor of a master chip (not shown in FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C),by any method known in the art, such as using various random numbergeneration algorithms. In one implementation, the outphasing transmittercan dynamically and selectably assign antennas in various randomassignments in conjunction with a change in the direction of an RF beamto be formed by phased array antenna panel 1500.

By dynamically assigning antennas in random assignments 1580, 1586, and1588, phased array antenna panel 1500 effectively results in non-uniformantenna spacing for antennas that transmit constant amplitude decomposedRF signal 1230 and for antennas that transmit constant amplitudedecomposed RF signal 1232. Thus, phased array antenna panel 1500effectively reduces grating lobes in applications that employ constantamplitude decomposed signals. In addition, by using the same distance D1that uniformly separates various adjacent antennas elements havinguniform width W, phased array antenna panel 1500 can be more easilymanufactured.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 16, outphasing transmitter1600 includes combiner 1660, decomposition block 1620, having DSP 1622,DACs 1624 and 1625, and mixers 1626 and 1627, power amplifiers 1640 and1642, and dual-polarized antenna 1650, having vertically-polarized probe1652-V and horizontally-polarized probe 1652-H.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, beamforming signals 1606, 1607, and 1608 areprovided to combiner 1660. Beamforming signals 1606, 1607, and 1608 aregenerally amplitude and phase modulated signals. For example,beamforming signal 1606 may carry amplitude and phase information for anantenna in a phased array antenna panel to contribute to formation of afirst RF beam. Similarly, beamforming signals 1607 and 1608 may carryamplitude and phase information for the antenna to contribute toformation of second and third RF beams respectively. Beamforming signals1606, 1607, and 1608 may be provided by a radio frequency (RF) front endchip (not shown in FIG. 16) in a phased array antenna panel configuredto provide amplitude and phase shifted signals in response to controlsignals received from a master chip in the phased array antenna panel(not shown in FIG. 16). An example of such phased array antenna panel,utilizing RF front end chips and a master chip is described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/226,785 filed on Aug. 2, 2016, and titled“Large Scale Integration and Control of Antennas with Master Chip andFront End Chips on a Single Antenna Panel.” The disclosure in thisrelated application is hereby incorporated fully by reference into thepresent application. In one implementation, an RF front end chip mayinclude components of outphasing transmitter 1600, such as combiner1660, decomposition block 1620, and power amplifiers 1640 and 1642. Inone implementation, a single RF front end chip may be associated with asingle dual-polarized antenna 1650. In various implementations, a singleRF front end chip may be associated with four, six, eight, sixteen, orany number of dual-polarized antennas 1650. Various examples ofassociation of RF front end chips with different numbers andarrangements of antennas is described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/255,656 filed on Sep. 2, 2016, and titled “Novel AntennaArrangements and Routing Configurations in Large Scale Integration ofAntennas with Front End Chips in a Wireless Receiver.” The disclosure inthis related application is hereby incorporated fully by reference intothe present application.

In the present implementation, beamforming signals 1606, 1607, and 1608are variable envelope signals defined by B₁(t), B₂(t), and B₃(t)respectively in equations (1), (2), and (3) above. As shown in FIG. 16,combiner 1660 is configured to combine beamforming signals 1606, 1607,and 1608 into composite input signal 1610. In the presentimplementation, composite input signal 1610 is a variable envelopesignal defined by S(t) in equation (4) above. In variousimplementations, combiner 1660 may combine more or fewer beamformingsignals into composite input signal 1610. As shown in FIG. 16,decomposition block 1620 is configured to decompose variable amplitude(or variable envelope) composite input signal 1610 into constantamplitude (or constant envelope) decomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632. Indecomposition block 1620, DSP 1622 decomposes variable amplitudecomposite input signal 1610 into constant amplitude decomposed digitalsignals 1612 and 1613. DSP 1622 may be implemented, for example, using afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip. DSP 1622 is coupled to DACs1624 and 1625. DACs 1624 and 1625 convert the constant amplitudedecomposed digital signals 1612 and 1613 into constant amplitudedecomposed analog signals 1614 and 1615 respectively. DACs 1624 and 1625are coupled to mixers 1626 and 1627 respectively. Mixers 1626 and 1627upconvert constant amplitude decomposed analog signals 1614 and 1615into constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632.Decomposition block 1620 outputs constant amplitude decomposed RFsignals 1630 and 1632. Decomposition block 1620 may include additionalcomponents, such as additional signal conditioning circuitry. In thepresent implementation, decomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632 are constantamplitude RF signals defined by respective constant amplitude componentsS1(t) and S2(t) in equation (5) above.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, decomposition block 1620 is coupled to poweramplifiers 1640 and 1642. Power amplifiers 1640 and 1642 amplifyconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632 respectively.Power amplifiers 1640 and 1642 can be placed sufficiently apart fromeach other and provided respective RF shields so as to minimize anyinter-modulation or interference between these two power amplifiers.

In the present implementation, power amplifiers 1640 and 1642 arecoupled to dual-polarized antenna 1650 at vertically-polarized probe1652-V and horizontally-polarized probe 1652-H respectively.Dual-polarized antenna 1650 may be, for example, a dual-polarized patchantenna, a dual-polarized dipole antenna, or a dual-polarized slotantenna. Dual-polarized antenna 1650 may transmit amplified constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1630 using vertically-polarized probe1652-V. Dual-polarized antenna 1650 may also transmit amplified constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1632 using horizontally-polarized probe1652-H. Dual-polarized antenna 1650 may be part of a phased arrayantenna panel (not shown in FIG. 16). In practice, for example when usedin conjunction with 5G wireless communications (5th generation mobilenetworks or 5th generation wireless systems), a phased array antennapanel may have one hundred and forty four (144) dual-polarized antennas1650. When used in conjunction with commercial geostationarycommunication satellites or low earth orbit satellites, a phased arrayantenna panel may be even larger, and have, for example, four hundred(400) dual-polarized antennas 1650. In other examples, a phased arrayantenna panel may have any other number of dual-polarized antennas 1650.In one implementation, a single power amplifier 1640 is coupled to asingle vertically-polarized probe 1652-V. In various implementations, asingle power amplifier 1640 may be coupled to four, six, eight, sixteen,or any number of vertically-polarized probes 1652-V. For example, poweramplifier 1640 may be coupled to each of vertically-polarized probes1652-V, using, for example, a splitter, a plurality of amplifier cells,or other suitable means. Likewise, a single power amplifier 1642 may becoupled to one or any number of horizontally-polarized probes 1652-H.Thus, vertically-polarized probe 1652-V may transmit amplified constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1630, and horizontally-polarized probe1652-H may transmit amplified constant amplitude decomposed RF signal1632.

By decomposing variable amplitude composite input signal 1610 intoconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632 prior to theiramplification, power amplifiers 1640 and 1642 operate with more powerefficiency. Moreover, power amplifiers 1640 and 1642 exhibit lessnon-linearity and introduce less distortion than would a power amplifierutilized to amplify variable amplitude composite signal 1610 withoutdecomposition. In addition, a combiner is not utilized to combine theoutputs of power amplifiers 1640 and 1642, thus avoiding loss orinter-modulation between power amplifiers 1640 and 1642. Further, byutilizing dual-polarized antenna 1650, outphasing transmitter 1600transmits two constant amplitude decomposed RF signals using a singleantenna element 1650. Thus, outphasing transmitter 1600 efficientlytransmits constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1630 as avertically-polarized signal using vertically-polarized probe 1652-V, andefficiently transmits constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1632 as ahorizontally-polarized signal using horizontally-polarized probe 1652-H.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing transmitter according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 17, outphasing transmitter1700 includes combiner 1760, decomposition block 1720, having DAC 1724,mixer 1726, and RF ASIC 1728, power amplifiers 1740 and 1742, anddual-polarized antenna 1750, having vertically-polarized probe 1752-Vand horizontally-polarized probe 1752-H.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, beamforming signals 1706, 1707, and 1708 areprovided to combiner 1760. Beamforming signals 1706, 1707, and 1708 aregenerally amplitude and phase modulated signals. For example,beamforming signal 1706 may carry amplitude and phase information for anantenna in a phased array antenna panel to contribute to formation of afirst RF beam. Similarly, beamforming signals 1707 and 1708 may carryamplitude and phase information for the antenna to contribute toformation of second and third RF beams respectively. Beamforming signals1706, 1707, and 1708 may be provided by a radio frequency (RF) front endchip (not shown in FIG. 17) in a phased array antenna panel configuredto provide amplitude and phase shifted signals in response to controlsignals received from a master chip in the phased array antenna panel(not shown in FIG. 17). An example of such phased array antenna panel,utilizing RF front end chips and a master chip is described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/226,785 filed on Aug. 2, 2016, and titled“Large Scale Integration and Control of Antennas with Master Chip andFront End Chips on a Single Antenna Panel.” The disclosure in thisrelated application is hereby incorporated fully by reference into thepresent application. In one implementation, an RF front end chip mayinclude components of outphasing transmitter 1700, such as combiner1760, decomposition block 1720, and power amplifiers 1740 and 1742. Inone implementation, a single RF front end chip may be associated with asingle dual-polarized antenna 1750. In various implementations, a singleRF front end chip may be associated with four, six, eight, sixteen, orany number of dual-polarized antennas 1750. Various examples ofassociation of RF front end chips with different numbers andarrangements of antennas is described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/255,656 filed on Sep. 2, 2016, and titled “Novel AntennaArrangements and Routing Configurations in Large Scale Integration ofAntennas with Front End Chips in a Wireless Receiver.” The disclosure inthis related application is hereby incorporated fully by reference intothe present application.

In the present implementation, beamforming signals 1706, 1707, and 1708are variable envelope signals defined by B₁(t), B₂(t), and B₃(t)respectively in equations (1), (2), and (3) above. As shown in FIG. 17,combiner 1760 is configured to combine beamforming signals 1706, 1707,and 1708 into composite input signal 1710. In the presentimplementation, composite input signal 1710 is a variable envelopesignal defined by S(t) in equation (4) above. In variousimplementations, combiner 1760 may combine more or fewer beamformingsignals into composite input signal 1710.

As shown in FIG. 17, decomposition block 1720 is configured to decomposevariable amplitude (or variable envelope) composite input signal 1710into constant amplitude (or constant envelope) decomposed RF signals1730 and 1732. In decomposition block 1720, DAC 1724 converts variableamplitude composite input signal 1710 into variable amplitude analogsignal 1712. DAC 1724 is coupled to mixer 1726. Mixer 1726 upconvertsvariable amplitude analog signal 1712 into variable amplitude RF signal1714. Mixer 1726 is coupled to RF ASIC 1728. RF ASIC 1728 decomposesvariable amplitude RF signal 1714 into constant amplitude decomposed RFsignals 1730 and 1732. Decomposition block 1720 outputs constantamplitude decomposed RF signals 1730 and 1732. Decomposition block 1720may include additional components, such as additional signalconditioning circuitry. In the present implementation, decomposed RFsignals 1730 and 1732 are constant amplitude RF signals defined byrespective constant amplitude components S1(t) and S2(t) in equation (5)above.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, decomposition block 1720 is coupled to poweramplifiers 1740 and 1742. Power amplifiers 1740 and 1742 amplifyconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 1730 and 1732 respectively.Power amplifiers 1740 and 1742 can be placed sufficiently apart fromeach other and provided respective RF shields so as to minimize anyinter-modulation or interference between these two power amplifiers.

In the present implementation, power amplifiers 1740 and 1742 arecoupled to dual-polarized antenna 1750 at vertically-polarized probe1752-V and horizontally-polarized probe 1752-H respectively.Dual-polarized antenna 1750 may be, for example, a dual-polarized patchantenna, a dual-polarized dipole antenna, or a dual-polarized slotantenna. Dual-polarized antenna 1750 may transmit amplified constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1730 using vertically-polarized probe1752-V. Dual-polarized antenna 1750 may also transmit amplified constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1732 using horizontally-polarized probe1752-H. Dual-polarized antenna 1750 may be part of a phased arrayantenna panel (not shown in FIG. 17). In practice, for example when usedin conjunction with 5G wireless communications (5th generation mobilenetworks or 5th generation wireless systems), a phased array antennapanel may have one hundred and forty four (144) dual-polarized antennas1750. When used in conjunction with commercial geostationarycommunication satellites or low earth orbit satellites, a phased arrayantenna panel may be even larger, and have, for example, four hundred(400) dual-polarized antennas 1750. In other examples, a phased arrayantenna panel may have any other number of dual-polarized antennas 1750.In one implementation, a single power amplifier 1740 is coupled to asingle vertically-polarized probe 1752-V. In various implementations, asingle power amplifier 1740 may be coupled to four, six, eight, sixteen,or any number of vertically-polarized probes 1752-V. For example, poweramplifier 1740 may be coupled to each of vertically-polarized probes1752-V, using, for example, a splitter, a plurality of amplifier cells,or other suitable means. Likewise, a single power amplifier 1742 may becoupled to one or any number of horizontally-polarized probes 1752-H.Thus, vertically-polarized probe 1752-V may transmit amplified constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1730, and horizontally-polarized probe1752-H may transmit amplified constant amplitude decomposed RF signal1732.

By decomposing variable amplitude composite input signal 1710 intoconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 1730 and 1732 prior to theiramplification, power amplifiers 1740 and 1742 operate with more powerefficiency. Moreover, power amplifiers 1740 and 1742 exhibit lessnon-linearity and introduce less distortion than would a power amplifierutilized to amplify variable amplitude composite signal 1710 withoutdecomposition. In addition, a combiner is not utilized to combine theoutputs of power amplifiers 1740 and 1742, thus avoiding loss orinter-modulation between power amplifiers 1740 and 1742. Further, byutilizing dual-polarized antenna 1750, outphasing transmitter 1700transmits two constant amplitude decomposed RF signals using a singleantenna element 1750. Thus, outphasing transmitter 1700 efficientlytransmits constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1730 as avertically-polarized signal using vertically-polarized probe 1752-V, andefficiently transmits constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1732 as ahorizontally-polarized signal using horizontally-polarized probe 1752-H.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary system diagram of a portion of anexemplary outphasing receiver according to one implementation of thepresent application. As illustrated in FIG. 18, outphasing receiver 1800includes dual-polarized antenna 1850, having vertically-polarized probe1852-V and horizontally-polarized probe 1852-H, VGA 1872, optional VGA1874, combiner 1860, mixer 1826, ADC 1824, modem 1821, output digitalsignal 1816, and feedback line 1870.

Outphasing receiver 1800 in FIG. 18 can be used in conjunction withoutphasing transmitter 1600 of FIG. 16 or outphasing transmitter 1700 ofFIG. 17. Dual-polarized antenna 1850 is configured to receivevertically-polarized signals using vertically-polarized probe 1852-V andto receive horizontally-polarized signals using horizontally-polarizedprobe 1852-H. For example, dual-polarized antenna 1850 may receiveconstant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1630 (or 1730) of FIG. 16 (orFIG. 17) using vertically-polarized probe 1852-V and may receiveconstant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1632 (or 1732) of FIG. 16 (orFIG. 17) using horizontally-polarized probe 1852-H. More specifically,dual-polarized antenna 1850 receives scaled versions of constantamplitude decomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632 (or 1730 and 1732),defined by G₁*S1(t) 1830 and G₂*S2(t) 1832 respectively, where G₁ and G₂are respective gains of decomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632 (or 1730 and1732) at outphasing receiver 1800. Dual-polarized antenna 1850 may be,for example, a dual-polarized patch antenna, a dual-polarized dipoleantenna, or a dual-polarized slot antenna. Dual-polarized antennas 1850may be part of a phased array antenna panel (not shown in FIG. 18) thatmay have any other number of antennas, as stated above.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, dual-polarized antenna 1850 is coupled tocombiner 1860 through VGA 1872 and optional VGA 1874. Combiner 1860combines scaled constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 1830 and 1832into a scaled variable amplitude composite RF signal, defined by G*S(t)1810. Scaled variable amplitude composite RF signal 1810 is a scaled RFversion of the original variable amplitude composite input signal 1610(or 1710). Combiner 1860 is coupled to mixer 1826. Mixer 1826downconverts scaled variable amplitude composite RF signal 1810 intoscaled variable amplitude composite analog signal 1812. Mixer 1826 iscoupled to ADC 1824. ADC 1824 converts scaled variable amplitudecomposite analog signal 1812 into scaled variable amplitude compositedigital signal 1814. ADC 1824 is coupled to modern 1821. Modern 1821produces an output digital signal 1816 based on scaled variableamplitude composite digital signal 1814. In various implementations,combiner 1860 may combine constant amplitude decomposed RF signals fromfour, six, eight, sixteen, or any number of antennas. In oneimplementation, an RF front end chip in a phased array antenna panel mayinclude components of outphasing receiver 1800, such as VGA 1872,optional VGA 1874, combiner 1860, mixer 1826, ADC 1824, and modem 1821.Components of outphasing receiver 1800 may be coupled in an order otherthan the order described herein. Outphasing receiver 1800 may includeadditional components, such as additional signal conditioning circuitry.

Thus, outphasing receiver 1800 is configured to receive polarizedconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals, such as constant amplitudedecomposed RF signals 1630 and 1632 (or 1730 and 1732), and compose avariable amplitude composite RF signal, such as scaled variableamplitude composite RF signal 1810. Since the constant amplitude RFsignals are combined at the receiver end (e.g., at outphasing receiver1800) to recompose the original variable amplitude RF signal, the needfor combining RF signals at the transmitter end is avoided. Moreover,VGA 1872 and optional VGA 1874 are utilized to amplify constantamplitude RF signals, thus reducing power inefficiency and non-linearityassociated with amplifying variable amplitude RF signals. Further, byutilizing dual-polarized antenna 1850, outphasing receiver 1800 receivestwo decomposed RF signals using a single antenna element 1850. Thus,outphasing receiver 1800 efficiently receives constant amplitudedecomposed RF signal 1630 (or 1730) as a vertically-polarized signalusing vertically-polarized probe 1852-V, efficiently receives constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1632 (or 1732) as ahorizontally-polarized signal using horizontally-polarized probe 1852-H,and efficiently recomposes them to generate scaled variable amplitudecomposite RF signal 1810.

As further illustrated in FIG. 18, modem 1821 is coupled to feedbackline 1870. Different paths taken by constant amplitude decomposed RFsignals, such as different paths taken by decomposed RF signals 1630 and1632 (or 1730 and 1732), can cause imbalance in both gain and phase, andresult in an increased bit error rate (BER) for the output digitalsignal 1816 at the receiver. Outphasing receiver 1800 can apply gain andphase adjustment to scaled constant amplitude composite RF signals 1830and 1832 using feedback line 370 in order to compensate for suchimbalance. For example, as show in FIG. 18, vertically-polarized probe1852-V is coupled to VGA 1872 and scaled constant amplitude decomposedRF signal 1830 is input to VGA 1872. Feedback line 1870 couples modem1821 to VGA 1872. Feedback line 1870 uses the BER as feedback to adjustthe gain of VGA 1872 to compensate for gain imbalance and decrease theBER. In the present implementation, the gain of VGA 1872 is adjusted toG₂/G₁, where G₁ and G₂ are respective gains of decomposed RF signals1630 and 1632 (or 1730 and 1732) at outphasing receiver 1800. In variousimplementations, feedback line 1870 may use optional VGA 1874, and thegains of VGA 1872 and optional VGA 1874 may be adjusted to values otherthan G₂/G₁. Feedback line 1870 may include additional components, suchas phase adjustment circuitry.

FIG. 19 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication. As illustrated in FIG. 19, phased array antenna panel 1900includes a plurality of dual-polarized antennas 1992, havingvertically-polarized probes 1952-V and horizontally-polarized probes1952-H. In the present implementation, dual-polarized antennas 1992 havea square shape and are arranged in a grid pattern in phased arrayantenna panel 1900. In one implementation, the distance between onedual-polarized antenna and an adjacent dual-polarized antenna is a fixeddistance, such as a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4). Although FIG. 19shows sixteen (16) dual-polarized antennas 1992, only a portion ofphased array antenna panel 1900 is shown in FIG. 19. In practice, forexample when used in conjunction with 5G wireless communications (5thgeneration mobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems), phasedarray antenna panel 1900 may be much larger, and may have one hundredand forty four (144) dual-polarized antennas 1992, arranged, forexample, in a twelve (12) by twelve (12) grid pattern. When used inconjunction with commercial geostationary communication satellites orlow earth orbit satellites, phased array antenna panel 1900 may be evenlarger, and have, for example, four hundred (400) dual-polarizedantennas 1992. In other examples, phased array antenna panel 1900 mayhave any other number of dual-polarized antennas 1992. In oneimplementation, dual-polarized antennas 1992 may have a shape other thana square, such as a circle. In practice, vertically-polarized probes1952-V and horizontally-polarized probes 1952-H may be situated in orover cubical or cylindrical cavities that accommodate more efficienttransmission or reception of RF signals. Thus, antenna elements 1992 inFIG. 19 may represent a top view of a cubical cavity housingvertically-polarized probes 1952-V and horizontally-polarized probes1952-H. Examples of various antennas that can be used in variousimplementations of the present application are shown and described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/278,970 filed on Sep. 28, 2016 andtitled “Low-Cost and Low-Loss Phased Array Antenna Panel,” and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/279,171 filed on Sep. 28, 2016 and titled“Phased Array Antenna Panel Having Cavities with RF Shields for AntennaProbes.” The disclosures in these related applications are herebyincorporated fully by reference into the present application. In oneimplementation, dual-polarized antennas 1992 may be arranged in apattern other than a grid. In one implementation, the distance betweenone dual-polarized antenna and an adjacent dual-polarized antenna may begreater than a quarter wavelength (i.e., greater than λ/4).

In the present implementation, phased array antenna panel 1900 is a flatpanel array employing dual-polarized antennas 1992 coupled to associatedactive circuits to form beams for transmission. In one implementation,the beams are formed fully electronically by means of phase andamplitude control circuits associated with dual-polarized antennas 1992.An example of beam forming using phase and amplitude control circuitsutilizing dual-polarized antennas is described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/226,785 filed on Aug. 2, 2016, and titled “LargeScale Integration and Control of Antennas with Master Chip and Front EndChips on a Single Antenna Panel.” The disclosure in this relatedapplication is hereby incorporated fully by reference into the presentapplication. Thus, phased array antenna panel 1900 can provide fullyelectronic beamforming without the use of mechanical parts.

Phased array antenna panel 1900 in FIG. 19 may be used as part of anoutphasing transmitter, such as outphasing transmitter 1600 of FIG. 16or outphasing transmitter 1700 of FIG. 17. Any of dual-polarizedantennas 1992 in FIG. 19 generally corresponds to dual-polarized antenna1650 (or 1750). In one implementation, a single power amplifier 1640 (or1740) is coupled to a single one of vertically-polarized probes 1952-V.In various implementations, a single power amplifier 1640 (or 1740) maybe coupled to four, six, eight, or any number of vertically-polarizedprobes 1952-V. For example, power amplifier 1640 (or 1740) may becoupled to each of vertically-polarized probes 1952-V, using, forexample, a splitter, a plurality of amplifier cells, or other suitablemeans. Likewise, a single power amplifier 1642 (or 1742) may be coupledto one or any number of horizontally-polarized probes 1952-H. Thus, asillustrated in FIG. 19, constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1930 isprovided to each of vertically-polarized probes 1952-V in phased arrayantenna panel 1900, and constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 1932 isprovided to each of horizontally-polarized probes 1952-H in phased arrayantenna panel 1900.

In 5G wireless communications, and wireless communications in relationto commercial geostationary satellites, low earth orbit satellites, andother beamforming applications, a phased array antenna panel employsnumerous power amplifiers that use much of the phased array antennapanel's power. By decomposing a variable amplitude composite inputsignal into constant amplitude decomposed RF signals 1930 and 1932 priorto their amplification, power amplifiers in phased array antenna panel1900 can operate with more power efficiency and less non-linearity.Thus, phased array antenna panel 1900 significantly improves powerefficiency and performance in applications that employ numerous poweramplifiers. Moreover, by utilizing dual polarized antennas 1992, phasedarray antenna panel 1900 efficiently transmits constant amplitudedecomposed RF signal 1930 as a vertically-polarized signal usingvertically-polarized probes 1952-V, and efficiently transmits constantamplitude decomposed RF signal 1932 as a horizontally-polarized signalusing horizontally-polarized probes 1952-H.

FIG. 20 illustrates a layout diagram of a portion of an exemplary phasedarray antenna panel according to one implementation of the presentapplication. As illustrated in FIG. 20, phased array antenna panel 2000includes a plurality of dual-polarized antennas 2092 and 2094, havingvertically-polarized probes 2052 a-V and 2052 b-V andhorizontally-polarized probes 2052 a-H and 2052 b-H. In the presentimplementation, dual-polarized antennas 2092 and 2094 have a squareshape and are arranged in a grid pattern in phased array antenna panel2000. In one implementation, the distance between one dual-polarizedantenna and an adjacent dual-polarized antenna is a fixed distance, suchas a quarter wavelength (i.e., λ/4). Although FIG. 20 shows sixteen (16)dual-polarized antennas 2092 and 2094, only a portion of phased arrayantenna panel 2000 is shown in FIG. 20. In practice, for example whenused in conjunction with 5G wireless communications (5th generationmobile networks or 5th generation wireless systems), phased arrayantenna panel 2000 may be much larger, and may have one hundred andforty four (144) dual-polarized antennas 2092 and 2094, arranged, forexample, in a twelve (12) by twelve (12) grid pattern. When used inconjunction with commercial geostationary communication satellites orlow earth orbit satellites, phased array antenna panel 2000 may be evenlarger, and have, for example, four hundred (400) dual-polarizedantennas 2092 and 2094. In other examples, phased array antenna panel2000 may have any other number of dual-polarized antennas 2092 and 2094.In one implementation, dual-polarized antennas 2092 and 2094 may have ashape other than a square, such as a circle. In practice,vertically-polarized probes 2052 a-V and 2052 b-V andhorizontally-polarized probes 2052 a-H and 2052 b-H may be situated inor over cubical or cylindrical cavities that accommodate more efficienttransmission or reception of RF signals. Thus, antenna elements 2092 and2094 in FIG. 20 may represent a top view of a cubical cavity housingvertically-polarized probes 2052 a-V and 2052 b-V andhorizontally-polarized probes 2052 a-H and 2052 b-H. Examples of variousantennas that can be used in various implementations of the presentapplication are shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/278,970 filed on Sep. 28, 2016 and titled “Low-Cost and Low-LossPhased Array Antenna Panel,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/279,171 filed on Sep. 28, 2016 and titled “Phased Array Antenna PanelHaving Cavities with RF Shields for Antenna Probes.” The disclosures inthese related applications are hereby incorporated fully by referenceinto the present application. In one implementation, dual-polarizedantennas 2092 and 2094 may be arranged in a pattern other than a grid.In one implementation, the distance between one dual-polarized antennaand an adjacent dual-polarized antenna may be greater than a quarterwavelength (i.e., greater than λ/4).

In the present implementation, phased array antenna panel 2000 is a flatpanel array employing dual-polarized antennas 2092 and 2094 coupled toassociated active circuits to form beams for transmission. In oneimplementation, the beams are formed fully electronically by means ofphase and amplitude control circuits associated with dual-polarizedantennas 2092 and 2094. An example of beam forming using phase andamplitude control circuits utilizing dual-polarized antennas isdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/226,785 filed on Aug.2, 2016, and titled “Large Scale Integration and Control of Antennaswith Master Chip and Front End Chips on a Single Antenna Panel.” Thedisclosure in this related application is hereby incorporated fully byreference into the present application. Thus, phased array antenna panel2000 can provide fully electronic beamforming without the use ofmechanical parts.

Phased array antenna panel 2000 in FIG. 20 may be used as part of anoutphasing transmitter, such as outphasing transmitter 1600 of FIG. 16or outphasing transmitter 1700 of FIG. 17. Any of dual-polarizedantennas 2092 and 2094 in FIG. 20 generally corresponds todual-polarized antenna 1650 (or 1750). In one implementation, a singlepower amplifier 1640 (or 1740) is coupled to a single one ofvertically-polarized probes 2052 a-V or to a single one ofhorizontally-polarized probes 2052 b-H. In various implementations, asingle power amplifier 1640 (or 1740) may be coupled to four, six,eight, or any number of vertically-polarized probes 2052 a-V orhorizontally-polarized probes 2052 b-H. For example, power amplifier1640 (or 1740) may be coupled to each of vertically-polarized probes2052 a-V and to each of horizontally-polarized probes 2052 b-H, using,for example, a splitter, a plurality of amplifier cells, or othersuitable means. Likewise, a single power amplifier 1642 (or 1742) may becoupled to one or any number of horizontally-polarized probes 2052 a-Hand vertically-polarized probes 2052 b-V.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, phased array antenna panel 2000 includes oddcolumns 2081 and even columns 2082. Constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 2030 is provided to each of vertically-polarized probes 2052 a-Vin odd columns 2081, and constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 2032 isprovided to each of horizontally-polarized probes 2052 a-H in oddcolumns 2081. In an alternate fashion, constant amplitude decomposed RFsignal 2032 is provided to each of vertically-polarized probes 2052 b-Vin even columns 2082, and constant amplitude decomposed RF signal 2030is provided to each of horizontally-polarized probes 2052 b-H in evencolumns 2082. As stated above, different paths taken by constantamplitude decomposed RF signals, such as different paths taken byconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 2030 and 2032, can causeimbalance in both gain and phase, and the receiver can apply gain andphase adjustment in order to compensate for such imbalance. In thepresent implementation, phased array antenna panel 2000 transmitsconstant amplitude decomposed RF signals 2030 and 2032 alternately usingvertically-polarized probes 2052 a-V and 2052 b-V andhorizontally-polarized probes 2052 a-H and 2052 b-H between odd columns2081 and even columns 2082. By utilizing a plurality of dual-polarizedantennas 2092 and 2094 to alternate assignment of constant amplitudedecomposed RF signals 2030 and 2032, phased array antenna panel 2000mitigates the imbalance between constant amplitude decomposed RF signals2030 and 2032. In addition, phased array antenna panel 2000 eliminatesor reduces the need to perform gain and phase adjustment at the receiverend. For example, in FIG. 18, the gain of VGA 1872 and the settling timeof feedback line 1870 can be reduced. The various implementations andadvantages of power efficiency and improvement in non-linearity andperformance when utilizing dual-polarized antennas discussed in relationto phased array antenna panel 1900 in FIG. 19 may also apply to phasedarray antenna panel 2000 in FIG. 20.

Thus, various implementations of the present application achieve atransmitter and a wireless communication system that overcome thedeficiencies in the art by using multiple beam phased array antennapanels with decomposed RF signals. From the above description it ismanifest that various techniques can be used for implementing theconcepts described in the present application without departing from thescope of those concepts. Moreover, while the concepts have beendescribed with specific reference to certain implementations, a personof ordinary skill in the art would recognize that changes can be made inform and detail without departing from the scope of those concepts. Assuch, the described implementations are to be considered in all respectsas illustrative and not restrictive. It should also be understood thatthe present application is not limited to the particular implementationsdescribed above, but many rearrangements, modifications, andsubstitutions are possible without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An outphasing transmitter comprising: aplurality of antennas in a phased array antenna panel, said plurality ofantennas comprising a first non-overlapping sub-array and a secondnon-overlapping sub-array; a combiner configured to combine a pluralityof amplitude modulated and/or phase modulated beamforming signals into acomposite input signal; a decomposition block configured to decomposesaid composite input signal into a first decomposed RF signal and asecond decomposed RF signal; said first decomposed RF signal coupled toa first power amplifier; said second decomposed RF signal coupled to asecond power amplifier; each antenna in said first non-overlappingsub-array being uniquely associated with said first power amplifier;each antenna in said second non-overlapping sub-array being uniquelyassociated with said second power amplifier; said phased array antennapanel forming a plurality of RF beams corresponding to said plurality ofbeamforming signals.
 2. The outphasing transmitter of claim 1, whereinsaid plurality of RF beams are directed toward a plurality of receivers.3. The outphasing transmitter of claim 1, wherein said first decomposedRF signal and said second decomposed RF signal are constant amplitudesignals.
 4. An outphasing transmitter comprising: a plurality ofinterleaved antenna rows in a phased array antenna panel; a combinerconfigured to combine a plurality of amplitude modulated and/or phasemodulated beamforming signals into a composite input signal; adecomposition block configured to decompose said composite input signalinto a first decomposed RF signal and a second decomposed RF signal;said first decomposed RF signal coupled to a first power amplifier; saidsecond decomposed RF signal coupled to a second power amplifier; eachantenna in a first group of rows in said plurality of interleavedantenna rows being uniquely associated with said first power amplifier;each antenna in a second group of rows in said plurality of interleavedantenna rows being uniquely associated with said second power amplifier;said phased array antenna panel forming a plurality of RF beamscorresponding to said plurality of beamforming signals.
 5. Theoutphasing transmitter of claim 4, wherein said plurality of RF beamsare directed toward a plurality of receivers.
 6. The outphasingtransmitter of claim 4, wherein said first decomposed RF signal and saidsecond decomposed RF signal are constant amplitude signals.
 7. Anoutphasing transmitter utilizing a phased array antenna panel, saidoutphasing transmitter comprising: a combiner configured to combine aplurality of beamforming signals into a composite input signal; adecomposition block configured to decompose said composite input signalinto a first decomposed RF signal and a second decomposed RF signal;said first decomposed RF signal coupled to a first power amplifier; saidsecond decomposed RF signal coupled to a second power amplifier; a firstrandom plurality of antennas being randomly hard-wired to said firstpower amplifier; a second random plurality of antennas being randomlyhard-wired to said second power amplifier; said phased array antennapanel forming a plurality of RF beams corresponding to said plurality ofbeamforming signals.
 8. The outphasing transmitter of claim 7, whereinsaid first random plurality of antennas is non-uniformly spaced.
 9. Theoutphasing transmitter of claim 7, wherein said plurality of RF beamsare directed toward a plurality of receivers.
 10. The outphasingtransmitter of claim 7, wherein said first decomposed RF signal and saidsecond decomposed RF signal are constant amplitude signals.
 11. Anoutphasing transmitter utilizing a phased array antenna panel, saidoutphasing transmitter comprising: a combiner configured to combine aplurality of beamforming signals into a composite input signal; adecomposition on block configured to decompose a composite input signalinto a first decomposed RF signal and a second decomposed RF signal;said first decomposed RF signal coupled to a first power amplifier; saidsecond decomposed RF signal coupled to a second power amplifier; a firstplurality of antennas being dynamically and selectably assigned to saidfirst power amplifier; a second plurality of antennas being dynamicallyand selectably assigned to said second power amplifier; said phasedarray antenna panel forming a plurality of RF beams corresponding tosaid plurality of beamforming signals.
 12. The outphasing transmitter ofclaim 11, wherein said outphasing transmitter dynamically assigns saidfirst plurality of antennas to said first power amplifier by at leastone switch.
 13. The outphasing transmitter of claim 11, wherein saidoutphasing transmitter dynamically assigns said first plurality ofantennas to said first power amplifier based upon a direction of saidplurality of RF beams.
 14. The outphasing transmitter of claim 11,wherein said outphasing transmitter dynamically assigns said firstplurality of antennas to said first power amplifier by referencing alookup table.
 15. The outphasing transmitter of claim 11, wherein saidoutphasing transmitter dynamically assigns said first plurality ofantennas to said first power amplifier in a random assignment.
 16. Theoutphasing transmitter of claim 11, wherein said plurality of RF beamsare directed toward a plurality of receivers.
 17. The outphasingtransmitter of claim 11, wherein said first decomposed RF signal andsaid second decomposed RF signal are constant amplitude signals.
 18. Anoutphasing transmitter comprising: a combiner configured to combine aplurality of beamforming signals into a composite input signal; adecomposition block configured to decompose said composite input signalinto a first decomposed RF signal and a second decomposed RF signal;said first decomposed RF signal coupled to a first power amplifier; saidsecond decomposed RF signal coupled to a second power amplifier; saidfirst power amplifier coupled to a vertically-polarized probe of adual-polarized antenna in a phased array antenna panel; said secondpower amplifier coupled to a horizontally-polarized probe of saiddual-polarized antenna in said phased array antenna panel; said phasedarray antenna panel forming a plurality of RF beams corresponding tosaid plurality of beamforming signals.
 19. The outphasing transmitter ofclaim 18, wherein said plurality of RF beams are directed toward aplurality of receivers.
 20. The outphasing transmitter of claim 18,wherein said first decomposed RF signal and said second decomposed RFsignal are constant amplitude signals.